The John Lennon Wall

The Lennon Wall was started in 1980 after Lennon was murdered.

It is a constant work in progress.

Before the Czech Republic was the Czech Republic, it was Czechoslovakia and part of the Soviet Bloc. In 1989, there was a peaceful end to Communism known as the Velvet Revolution. Writer, dissident, and statesman Vaclav Havel served as president during this transition time.

Elizabeth had been to the wall in March with her parents. She said the look of the wall had greatly changed since then. We read in Wikipedia that on April 22, 2019, environmental activists had covered the wall with slogans demanding action on climate change and invited others to join in.

Later in the week, we ate lunch at the John Lennon Pub.

There was other street art in Prague. This was under a bridge.

High Above Prague Part 1

To get to this view. . .

. . .we had to climb these stairs. As Elizabeth said, "They look innocent, but they're not."

Here we are at the top!

I didn't mind the overcast days. They lent a kind of gloomy atmosphere that seemed appropriate to Prague.

The beautiful back stairs headed down.

Churches, a Clock older than Columbus, and the Infant of Prague

I arrived in Prague on Saturday, so Elizabeth and I decided to go to evening Mass. There was an English language Mass at St. Thomas at 6 pm. St. Thomas is in the busy baroque style.

I took a photo of the 9th Station of the Cross, Jesus falls the third time, as I do in many of the churches I visit. As I was wandering around the church taking photos, the sacristan approached me and asked me if I would read at Mass. This was quite the coincidence as I was scheduled to read at this Mass in my home parish of St. Mark's! Elizabeth later told me that she referred the sacristan to me.

One of the many interesting features of Prague--you will look up at a building and see statues like this.

We went to Old Town Square to watch the hourly Walk of the Apostles in the Prague Astrological Clock. This clock was constructed in the 1490's. A few others are waiting too,

The clock is flanked by four figures representing negative things about life. On the far right is a statue staring in a mirror that signifies vanity. Next to him is a statue holding a bag of gold, a sign of greed. On the other side of the clock is a skeleton that represents death. And the last fellow with the musical instrument denotes lust. The two windows above are open as the Apostles prepare for their walk.

There they go. Not sure which two Apostles those are.

Leaving until the next hour.

The Vltava River, which flows through Prague. The National Theatre is the rounded building with the gold on top in the distance.

The gothic cathedral, St. Vitus, is perched over the city. There was a long line to get in so we passed.

The back of St. Vitus.

On Sunday, we went to the Church of Our Lady Victorious, where the famous Infant of Prague is located.  Above is a little chapel to the left as you enter the church.

But this is not the Infant of Prague, or at least not the main one. It reminds me when I was in Florence in 1985 and there was an imitation statue of David outside.

Here is the real statue in all its creepy glory. The statue has a long, complicated history that may have started in Spain and many people throughout the years have venerated the statue. I like the idea of venerating the Child Jesus, but maybe not like this: the Las Vegasidation of the Baby Jesus. 

Meeting Prague

For this trip, I did far less research then usual, especially on Prague. My main reason for going to Prague was to visit the gal above, my niece and goddaughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth is a sophomore at the University of Dayton and is doing a semester abroad. Above she is standing on the stairs leading to my Airbnb apartment. I stayed on the third floor and these were tall floors as each flight had 24 stairs. Good exercise!

Here is the view from the apartment.

After I dropped off my luggage, it was time to get something to eat. We went to Lokal, a Czech restaurant in a beer hall. Beer is a Czech specialty. It's not one of my favorites, but the food is excellent. 

I got a chicken breast sauteed in butter and mushroom and Elizabeth got goulash and dumplings.

The dumplings are more like doughy pieces of bread that are perfect for dipping up the sauce.

The first couple of days in Prague it rained part of the time. This made the beautiful, ever present cobblestones slick.

Elizabeth has mastered the public transportation, which consists of trams and buses.

Here she is with my compromised umbrella, heroically waiting for a tram for us.

Made it!

 

Interesting statues. Who hasn't felt this way sometime?

Here is Elizabeth in front of her school, Anglo American University. She has classes three days a week and has taken advantage of that flexibility to travel all over Europe. She has been to: Poland, Morocco, Spain, Ireland, England, Austria, France, Holland, Germany, Portugal, and I think I'm forgetting a couple! Lisbon was her favorite place.

Statues at her school.

More cobblestones.

The flag of the Czech Republic, same as the flag of Czechoslovakia. More on the history of the Czech republic in a future post.

Children on a field trip.

Hanging recycling below a pedal bar.

So glad to be in this beautiful country with Elizabeth!

Getting There

I am flying on United/Lufthansa to Prague. I love the United terminal at O'Hare. It is a combination of classic and futuristic. The floor looks like an old-time train station.

And the ceiling looks like an erector set come to life.

Plus, it has a dinosaur.

And catchy, thought-provoking advertising slogans that reference astrophysics.

 

I know commercial flying has been around for awhile but I still can't get over how cool and unlikely it is: to be hurling through the air at 35,000 feet at 600 plus miles an hour in a vehicle that looks like a toothpaste tube with wings. Even though for many of us, flying is a regular part of life, we are in the world's minority. Most people in this big world, their only experience of flying is seeing the planes in the sky from the ground.

Love to take photos from this rarefied view. Above, leaving Prague.

Classic, fluffy clouds that look like they're the home to Zeus.

I think those mountains are in Italy or Turkey, but not sure.

Pretty sure that is the Mediterranean Sea. Looking forward to this trip and you know what they say: getting there is half the fun.